Murder Liability for Prescribing Opioids: A Way Forward?

In February 2016, Dr. Hsiu-Ying Tseng was sentenced to 30-years to life in prison after a jury found her guilty of second-degree murder for three patient drug overdose deaths in California. For the first time in American history, a physician was held criminally liable for the murder of a patient by means of extreme recklessness in opioid prescribing. Although Dr. Tseng’s unique conviction reflects her outlier prescribing practices, the conviction and sentencing has sent ripples through the medical community, causing concerns for many physicians who now worry they will be held criminally liable when their patients abuse and misuse opioid prescriptions. However, physicians—particularly the majority that prescribe opioids in an earnest attempt to alleviate legitimate patient pain—may take comfort that the legal risks can be managed. Prescribers can take a number of steps to minimize criminal liability concerns, including following available guidelines, such as those recently issued on opioid prescribing for chronic pain by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While outlier physicians like Dr. Tseng may meet the standards for criminal liability, criminal prosecution may do little to curb prescription opioid abuse—an epidemic that calls for more upstream prevention measures.